Junior Abbie Hix went 3 for 5 with three runs scored while freshman Annie Grammer blasted a three-run homer to lead the Wayne State softball team in splitting a non-conference twinbill with Truman State on Wednesday afternoon in Kirksville, Mo. The Wildcats won the opener 6-5 while falling in the second contest 9-1 in five innings.
The opener saw Wayne State build a 5-0 lead, then hold on late for the win over the Bulldogs.
The Wildcats took a 3-0 lead in the second inning when freshman Annie Grammer belted her first collegiate home run down the left field line scoring Rachel Shumaker and Hix.
The Wildcats added two more runs in the fifth inning, thanks to a two-out rally. Katelyn Wobken doubled and scored on a Wildcat pitch while Morgan Vasa walked and scored when Emily Chandler reached on an error.
Truman scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 5-2, but Wayne State scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the sixth when Hix walked and scored on an RBI single from Jordyn Breitbarth.
The host Bulldogs got within one in the sixth inning scoring three runs on a three-run homer, but sophomore Allison Niemeier came on in the seventh and held Truman scoreless to earn the save.
Hix led the Wildcats, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and two runs scored. Wobken added two hits including a double followed by Grammer with a three-run homer.
Junior Riley Vanderveen (3-4) was the winning pitcher with relief help from Niemeier. Vanderveen worked six innings and allowed five runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and five walks. Niemeier faced four batters in the seventh, allowing one walk, to earn her first save of the season.
The second game saw the host Bulldogs erupt for five runs in the second inning to spark Truman State in a five-inning win over the Wildcats (6-9) to salvage a split.
Truman took a 1-0 lead in the first and produced five runs in the second on just three hits, benefitting from one Wayne State error, to take a 6-0 lead.
Two more runs in the fourth resulted in a 8-0 Bulldog lead. Wayne State avoided the shutout in the fifth when Hix doubled down the right field line and scored on a groundout from Breitbarth before Truman State ended the game with a run in the bottom of the inning.
Hix doubled while Wobken, Chandler and Breitbarth each singled for Wayne State.
Freshman Maddie Moser (2-3) suffered the pitching loss, charged with seven runs (three earned) on seven hits over 2 1/3 innings with one walk. Junior Alyx Hagen worked the final 2 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on two hits with two walks.
Wayne State’s schedule this weekend at the Hy-Vee Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. has been shortened one day due to predicted bad weather, as Friday’s games have been cancelled. The abbreviated schedule now has Wayne State playing in St. Joseph on Saturday at 12 p.m. vs. Missouri Western and 2 p.m. against Washburn, with Sunday games at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville at 9 a.m. against Northwest Missouri State and 3 p.m. vs. Central Missouri.
